Showa Damping Rod Finish
  • mossman77
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    Showa Damping Rod Finish

    by mossman77 » Wed Feb 01, 2017 10:10 am

    I'm in the process of rebuilding the forks off my brother-in-law's 2004 CRF250R. Upon disassembly, I noticed the damper rods have a gold coating on them, which is not very slick, especially when compared to the fork rods on my 2007 250X, which are chrome plated. Was 2004 the only year these were used? Did Showa decide to switch to the chrome type because of stiction issues? One of the rods was sticking pretty badly, particularly in one area, which had a couple white rings around it. I'm not sure if the finish wore off in this area or if there is something sticking to the rod. Either way, I wet sanded these areas with some 2500 grit, and although the rings didn't disappear, the travel is much smoother now. I'll be replacing the rod seal next to ensure everything is kosher.
    2007 CRF250X
    2004 CRF230F (sold)
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    JimDirt
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    by JimDirt » Fri Feb 03, 2017 12:51 am

    No its not the only year , both my bikes have gold as well

    This pic is of my 450X forks , you can see the gold shaft near the bottom of the pic , my 02 450R has them as well , so 06X and 02 R do have gold for sure , i can't remember on any other years i have had apart
    Image
    2020 CRF450R
    2006 CRF450X
    Image
    Weiser , Idaho
  • mossman77
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    by mossman77 » Fri Feb 03, 2017 7:20 am

    Okay. Maybe they changed it in '07 because mine are chrome plated and much more slick.
    2007 CRF250X
    2004 CRF230F (sold)
  • mossman77
    Posts: 316
    Joined: Tue Jan 13, 2015 9:28 am

    by mossman77 » Fri Feb 03, 2017 7:55 am

    I like the black tubes! Did you paint them or are they aftermarket?
    2007 CRF250X
    2004 CRF230F (sold)
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    JimDirt
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    by JimDirt » Fri Feb 03, 2017 10:22 am

    I had them Anodized , they were the original tubes , it was about $100 for both bikes , (just had them do the fork tubes , not shock bodies) , the pic was taken , was right when i got them back home from the Anodize place , i ended up just spray can painting the shock bodies black since they were mostly protected and hidden anyway , as well as spray can black on the engine

    On a side note , the Rebound Rod on my 02 R was also rubbed thru in a spot , i just polished it with wet 1200 grit then finished with Mothers Aluminum Polish , so far no issues with seal leakage on the inner cartridge ;)
    Image
    Last edited by JimDirt on Fri Feb 03, 2017 10:32 am, edited 1 time in total.
    2020 CRF450R
    2006 CRF450X
    Image
    Weiser , Idaho
  • mossman77
    Posts: 316
    Joined: Tue Jan 13, 2015 9:28 am

    by mossman77 » Fri Feb 03, 2017 10:25 am

    I had them Anodized , they were the original tubes , it was about $100 for both bikes


    $25 a tube? That's it!?
    On a side note , the Rebound Rod on my 02 R was also rubbed thru in a spot , i just polished it with wet 1200 grit then finished with Mothers Aluminum Polish , so far no issues with seal leakage on the inner cartridge ;)
    Good to hear!
    2007 CRF250X
    2004 CRF230F (sold)
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    JimDirt
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    by JimDirt » Fri Feb 03, 2017 10:35 am

    I edited when you were posting :lol:, see attached pic and added info ... and yes , i thought it was a great deal , they do industrial Anodizing , so they just waited till they were doing some black stuff and threw it in with their run , so it was not a "special" batch for mine...
    2020 CRF450R
    2006 CRF450X
    Image
    Weiser , Idaho
  • mossman77
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    by mossman77 » Fri Feb 03, 2017 10:36 am

    Awesome. Do you know if they had to do any prep first other than a solvent bath, or did it adhere to the tubes as is?
    2007 CRF250X
    2004 CRF230F (sold)
  • mossman77
    Posts: 316
    Joined: Tue Jan 13, 2015 9:28 am

    by mossman77 » Fri Feb 03, 2017 11:12 am

    I had them Anodized , they were the original tubes , it was about $100 for both bikes , (just had them do the fork tubes , not shock bodies) , the pic was taken , was right when i got them back home from the Anodize place , i ended up just spray can painting the shock bodies black since they were mostly protected and hidden anyway , as well as spray can black on the engine

    On a side note , the Rebound Rod on my 02 R was also rubbed thru in a spot , i just polished it with wet 1200 grit then finished with Mothers Aluminum Polish , so far no issues with seal leakage on the inner cartridge ;)
    Image
    My brother in law's were nowhere near that bad. Glad to know even that extent of damage is repairable.

    I think I may have asked you this before, but what technique, solvent/cleaner do you use to flush the inside of your tubes? Specifically the inner tube with the spring seat. Gunk always gets trapped inside. I used a bit of kerosene and swirled it around, then poured it out and cleaned the inside of the tube with contact cleaner and ran a rag back and forth. Is this okay to do? Should I flush it out with some fresh oil? Perhaps soaking them in soap and water then hanging them to dry would be safer?
    2007 CRF250X
    2004 CRF230F (sold)
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    JimDirt
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    by JimDirt » Fri Feb 03, 2017 11:22 am

    As far as i understood it , they strip it because the stock Anodizing has a clear coat , that has to be removed since the Anodizing can't adhere to it , as it needs the surface chemically clean in order to do the adhering process , its somewhat like a Chroming process , where its Etched , then rinsed , then coated with a bonding agent , then anodized (i think thats how they described it) , i did this back in 2008 so its hard to remember back that far .... heck , sometimes its hard to remember what i did a few hours ago , must be Alzheimer kicking in or something like that ............ Hi i'm new here , whats your name ?? :? :lol:
    2020 CRF450R
    2006 CRF450X
    Image
    Weiser , Idaho
  • mossman77
    Posts: 316
    Joined: Tue Jan 13, 2015 9:28 am

    by mossman77 » Fri Feb 03, 2017 11:23 am

    As far as i understood it , they strip it because the stock Anodizing has a clear coat , that has to be removed since the Anodizing can't adhere to it , as it needs the surface chemically clean in order to do the adhering process , its somewhat like a Chroming process , where its Etched , then rinsed , then coated with a bonding agent , then anodized (i think thats how they described it) , i did this back in 2008 so its hard to remember back that far .... heck , sometimes its hard to remember what i did a few hours ago , must be Alzheimer kicking in or something like that ............ Hi i'm new here , whats your name ?? :? :lol:
    :lol: :D
    2007 CRF250X
    2004 CRF230F (sold)
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    JimDirt
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    by JimDirt » Fri Feb 03, 2017 10:05 pm

    As far as the cleaning of the tubes and all parts for that matter , i use a Harbor Freight Solvent Tank , with Purple Power in it (careful on painted parts , it will soften or start melting the paint on any surface left in it more than a minute or so) , but it cleans the crap out of Aluminum

    My procedure is :
    Put parts in tank and turn on pump so it flows thru the tubes for a few minutes

    Scrub on any grungy parts you can reach with a brush or whatever (rifle cleaning kits work well for getting in tight places , just keep screwing more sections together till they are long enough)

    Remove parts from tank and rinse throughly with water (i use a stream nozzle on the garden hose) ,

    Then blow out the parts with air and either wipe out/off with the blue shop towels you get at Wal-Mart , or use a broom handle and push the blue towels thru the tubes to get excess water/moisture out and blow off parts easily accessible

    The Purple Power will cut about any grunge that gets inside the tubes , i also used to use Mineral Spirits in the solvent tank , but it smells up the workshop too much , but still does a OK job , but i like Purple Power better , you get it in the Automotive section at Wal-Mart in 2 or 3 gallon jugs , i use 3 jugs in the solvent tank
    2020 CRF450R
    2006 CRF450X
    Image
    Weiser , Idaho

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